This sermon emphasizes the great responsibility of those who have been forgiven, using the parable from Matthew 18 about the unforgiving servant. It highlights the importance of understanding and accepting God's grace, mercy, and forbearance in order to truly forgive others. The speaker urges the congregation to examine their hearts, repent, and extend forgiveness to others as they have been forgiven by God.

The Great Responsibility of Those Who've Been Forgiven. The Great Responsibility of Those Who've Been Forgiven. I want you to go to Matthew 18th chapter, and I'm going to read a lengthy portion of scripture here this morning because I want you to get the whole picture. 18th chapter of Matthew, and let me begin with verse 21, reading from 21 to the end of the chapter. Then came Peter to Him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times. Jesus saith unto him, I say unto thee, until seven times. Not until seven times, but until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king. Now listen to this story, please. It's my message. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. When he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold and his wife and his children and all that he had in payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I'll pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt. The same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him a hundred pence, and he lay hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. His fellow servant fell down at his feet, besought him, saying, Have patience with me and I'll pay thee all. He would not, but went and cast him into prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto the Lord all that was done. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest thou not also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." Holy Spirit, you've been dealing with me on this subject for almost a month. You've been showing me that this is something I have to deal with in my life and that every born-again believer, every pastor in the United States and around the world, every believer has to deal with this. And I pray, Father, you show us, open this truth, God, make it clear so I can speak as an oracle of God and not of man, to unburden and reveal your heart and not my own. Sanctify me for this purpose, I pray, in Jesus' name, amen. Forgive my voice, I've been struggling a bit with it. Now, in this story, Jesus is teaching us about the kingdom of heaven. Every character in this story is a type of a believer. He said, let me tell you what the kingdom of heaven is like. When he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him 10,000 talents. Now, that's many millions of dollars in our money today, many millions of dollars, multiplied millions of dollars in debt. Now, some Bible versions call him a slave and that this was a loan. That's hard for me to accept. He's a servant and somehow he had access to great resources and he has squandered those resources. And this was brought to the attention of the Lord. Now, this certain man in this parable is our Christ. This is Jesus. Now, this is not the last judgment when we're all given a camp because as the story unfolds, you find there are many events following that could not possibly mean that this is the final judgment. But those that are in debt and those that have misused great resources are being brought into an account and the Bible says that this man is in deep debt. Now, this man is not a heathen. He's a part of this kingdom work of God. Now, in Matthew 25, remember the talents that were given were always given for the purpose of bearing fruit. God just didn't promiscuously give talents. He always said, if I give you resources, you're to use it to bear fruit. You're to bring me fruit. There's something that you have to know about the giving of talents. So, much was expected of this man. No one had been giving as many resources, probably a very talented man, greatly used man in the kingdom of God. He's dealing with an individual now that's caught deep in debt and bankrupt. The Scripture said he had nothing to pay. His Lord commanded him to be sold and his wife, his children, and all that he had in payment to be made. Now, I could stop at this point and go into theological discussion about the law and about the slavery that is involved in that, but that's not my purpose. I'm not going to talk about the law. There's a whole message there perhaps that can be drawn from that. My message is focused on this man who's forgiven a great debt and that he is forgiven based on compassion and mercy alone. He had no merit. He had nothing to give, totally bankrupt. The Scripture says he fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I'll pay thee all. Now, the Greek word there, worshipped, in other words, he fell down and worshipped, is for kuneo. It means to kiss like a dog licking his master's hand. So, it means to fawn. What it is, this man is not asking for repentance. He did not repent. He's not even thinking about repentance. It's a fawning. It's like a dog who's down and he's being reprimanded or he's being corrected and he's licking the master's hand trying to find mercy. He doesn't ask for forgiveness, but notice he asks for patience. He's saying, Lord, give me another chance. You've given enough time, given enough resources. You just give me time. I can make it up. I can make this all up to you. Now, here's a man who has no possibility of ever repaying for the sin and the misuse and the squandering of the resources he'd been given from the master. But here he is. He's not asking for repentance. He's been caught. This is a fawning kind of repentance you see often when men are exposed. For example, God may in his love expose a minister or anyone in the church for adultery. He knows, he's seen in the past the cost of that. The Bible said to be sold is his wife, his children, his career, and everything that he had. And he comes with this fawning, dog-licking kind of kissy thing. There's no true repentance, but it's, Lord, don't take my career. Don't bring shame on my family. Don't let me lose anything, because if you give me one more chance, I can make it up to you. Just give me time. And that's what this man is asking for. He's asking for time. There's no possibility that he'd ever make it up. In a million years, he couldn't have made up. He doesn't even have a job now. You see, this is what happens when a man often is exposed for sin. He goes to his wife, and he cries a river of tears. He cries, honey, please, just one more chance. I'll work this out. I need time. I'll work all this out. When I was a younger preacher, there was a very popular song in the Pentecostal movement. It was, forgive me, Lord, and try me one more time. I used to like that song. Now I hate it. God is not interested in giving another chance. There are no chances. There's no way. There is no possible way, because under the New Covenant, the demand for holiness is a million times longer, stronger, more firm than in the Old Covenant, so that God makes the demand so high you couldn't possibly ever. Just like this man has no hope. If he gave you another chance, what good would that do? There's no chances. This man was not forgiven because he repented. He didn't repent at all. In fact, his heart was hard. He's a man with no compassion or pity for his fellow man, which the story clearly reveals. There's no concept of exceeding sinfulness of his sin. You can't repent until you understand how impossible it is for you and I to ever pay back for our sins or to make it up for God through prayer, through consecration, through promises, through all of these things. You cannot make it up. You cannot atone for your own sins. Now, the Lord knew this man's heart, the hypocritical heart. He knew he was trying to work on his pity. It was superficial, but the Bible said the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him his debt. I would guarantee you he was not moved by his tears. He was not moved by his cry for patience, not at all. There were two reasons why the Lord forgave this man, and I want you to listen closely. It strikes at the heart of understanding the new covenant. It strikes at the heart of the despair and turmoil in the lives of pastors and Christians worldwide because there's something that's never been understood. First of all, the master knew that this man, if he didn't forgive him, he's going to be hardened for life because there is a horrible sickness in his mind. There's a horrible thing that's gripped this man's mind, and the Lord knew his heart, and he knew what was going on. To him, you see, it was just a mistake that needed a little time to be fixed. To think that all he, the Lord looks on this man and says, he thinks if he has time. He thinks that if he can pay me in dribs and drabs. You know, this is exactly where the church is in many circles today. If I just have time and spend enough time in the Word, if I seek the Lord with all my heart and soul and spend hours in weeping and broken before the Lord, and they go into the Old Testament and they hold the Old Testament promises. You see, in the Old Testament it says, if you commit adultery, you're a sinner. Jesus said, oh, no, no, no, no, not now, not a new come. You just look on the woman you committed adultery. You see, the demands are greater. So, it becomes more and more impossible for us to ever try to think or entertain thoughts that by repentance itself, just this kind of repentance, this cry for patience, this cry, try me one more time, oh God. The Lord knows it's in his heart. This man has a sickness in his mind. That sickness is that this idea that God can forgive me just out of his love because he's good and he has forbearance. Forbearance in the Greek is to put up with, is to put up with, to endure things that you don't like, things that may express your failure in your life, but forbearance. And this man could not accept the forbearance of God, of his master. He couldn't conceive that. He walks out of the presence of this man. He's freely forgiven. And the Lord forgave him out of goodness to lead him to repentance. The Lord was hoping he would walk out and suddenly dawn on him, there are no claims on me now. I have been absolutely set free because of mercy and the absolute goodness of God. And it's to dawn on me, I am to understand, I'm to lay hold of that truth, that mercy and grace alone has saved me from my sin. And that brings me to my knees. That brings me to my face saying, oh God, undeserved, unmerited, nothing good in me. I gave you nothing but pain and sorrow, sickness and sin, and you forgave me. And this man left the presence of his master, and it didn't fit his doctrine, it didn't fit his theology, because he's still thinking it's not that easy, you've got to do something about it, I have to invest in this, are he going to come after me? So help me, he's going to come after me. He's still going to harbor something in his heart against me, going to come at me, and I have to have another plan. Let me give you a passing word about repentance. Repentance has been called turning away or turning around. You go in one direction, you turn around and go the other. And it's written that godly sorrow accompanies repentance, that it's more than just turning away from the sins of the flesh, and it's more than just godly grieving for the past. There has to be a turning away from this mind sickness, this thing that grips the mind, that's what true repentance is. I have to turn away once and for all from any thought or seed thought in my mind, that I can, by any effort of my own, any good thing, pay back to the Lord. I have to understand and accept the goodness of God, and the mercy of God is my only way to salvation, and to be free from the burden of sin that has been on my back. And so here God raises up an example for the whole church, for the whole church age, of an example of someone who truly needed unmerited forgiveness and grace, and he truly, freely forgives. And let me ask you, what saved you? Was it your tears? Hmm? What good thing did you do? What did you pay? It could even be counted against the death that you owed. Was it because you made promises that you'd read the Bible and study, and you're going to be good, and you're going to walk away from all your sins now, and that sin that easily besets you now, you're going to fight it through and struggle, and now God saw your good intentions, so he forgave you. No, no, he didn't forgive this man for good intentions, he had none. Now the Lord didn't overlook this man's sin. He didn't wink at his sin. You see, by forgiving him by grace and mercy alone, he places a greater debt upon him than the debt that was forgiven. And that's what I want to talk to you about for a while this morning, this great debt of those who've been forgiven. You see, at that very moment there was a responsibility placed on this man that was greater than all the sins that had just been forgiven. He's now responsible to be as forgiving and loving to others as the Master's been to him. And oh, what a responsibility that is. What an incredible responsibility. You see, you can't disconnect this parable with all the other parables. You can't isolate it from the rest of Scripture, because Scripture answers Scripture. You have to take it all into account. Jesus said, if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. You see, what Jesus said then was in effect then. He had said it in that time, that very time. He said, if you not forgive others, I cannot forgive you. It's not an option, it's a command. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another. In other words, putting up with one another and forgiving one another. If any man ever quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfection, or perfectness. The Lord's saying to this man, I have loved you. I have forgiven you a great debt. Now I am saying that you are obligated. You are commanded to go forth in your house, in your home, on the job, on the street, and everywhere you go. And you're to treat every other brother, sister, just as I have treated you, with unmerited grace and mercy. You've got to do the same thing. I've done this now for this very, very purpose. This man goes out, and he finds, he meets someone on the street that owes him pennies, literally pennies. Probably in our time, less than three days' wages. And he takes him by the throat, and begins to choke him. If you follow the imagery through, you know he's saying, look in your pockets. And he's searching his pockets. He says, I want it, and I want it now. And this man falls down in the same scene, same picture. And he says, please have patience. Give me time. I'll pay you back. And this man says, you don't have any time. And he drags him off to the prison and has him charged and locked up. Now folks, these are all type of Christians, believers. This man's not a heathen. He's a man who'd been trusted with great responsibilities in the kingdom of God. He had great resources that he'd wasted. This is one of the most abominable sins mentioned in the Bible. How can this be perpetrated by a man who's been so forgiven? How could he act so shamefully? What ingratitude. Stop and think about it. Incredible, unbelievable ingratitude. How can it happen to a man? You know, you see, the blackness has been in his heart all the time. I want you to go to Romans 2, and let me answer the question from the Scripture. How this man could do this. Romans 2, verses 1 through 6. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For when thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such thing. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do the same things, and doest the same, that you shall escape the judgment of God? Now listen to this. Or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance among suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. But after thy hardness and pettinent heart, tracest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deed. Now look at me, please. That word despise means to think it is impossible. In other words, he said this grace and mercy is impossible. I can't comprehend it. Scripture here, all the apostles says not knowing, not understanding. Folks, this is one of the most important things I can ever say to you. And listen to me, please. You have got to know and understand the grace of God. You have got to know and understand the forbearance of God. I don't believe you can live a victorious life unless you understand that God loves you. Totally, without merit, he loves his people. I wake up every day and I thank God I am loved. And I get my strength from that. He loves me. He doesn't wink at my sin. No, he doesn't wink at my sin. But he wants me to understand and know that the goodness and his mercy is leading me to a life of repentance where I quickly repent and I quickly go to him because of his love and because of his forgiveness. Not trying to earn anything, not praying because I'm trying to make anything up to God, but giving him thanks for his mercy. Despising the riches. See, this man went away despising the riches of goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God was meant to lead him to repentance. He despised it, which simply means he could not accept it. Can't accept it. And a man who doesn't believe he's loved is not capable of loving anybody else. Becomes judgmental. He despised the riches of forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing. You see, he wasn't on probation. There was no claim against him. This man is free. But he's not accepting it. He's despising it in his mind because his past perhaps, his Jewish background that told him he had to do 635 works in other ways, in a way to please almighty God. How dangerous it is not to know and accept and believe in the goodness and longsuffering and forbearance of the Lord. You see, he goes out still in doubt. He goes out despising this mercy, believing he still owes the debt. So he's going to treat everybody else. He's now a judge, judgmental folks. I believe there's more judgmentalism in the church than there is outside the church. Because you see, the world won't judge its own. But such judgmentalism, incredible judgmentalism in the body of Jesus Christ. This man had no rest. He's in turmoil. And he's doing... I'll tell you what, this man, I believe from the time he left, we don't know how much time expired between the time he was forgiven and he goes out and meets this man that owed him so little that I'm sure that he's in turmoil. What am I going to do? How is it going to happen? And he's forgotten the grace that's been given to him. He's not even knowing, not understanding. So, folks, you hear so much. You've heard, we've preached against sin. You've heard all of this and you've heard grace. You've heard a lot of grace preaching and mercy preaching. But is it dawning on you? Are you getting it? Are you getting it? Are you understanding how much he loves, how much he cares and how much he wants you not to despise that, to accept it and to fully believe it so that you can learn what true repentance is and what it is to walk truly in holiness without walls? Why are there so many divisions in the body of Christ? Why are so many ministers fighting with other ministers and denominations fighting with other denominations? You know, Jesus said, By this shall men know you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. How in the world does the ungodly people recognize the church now? If love is the way we recognize the body of Christ, how is it recognized today? With all the fighting and all of the horrible things that are happening, I was in a certain country for a minister's conference, and when I got there, I was told time and time again, Minister, there's one pastor in this city we don't fellowship with. Beware of him. Don't associate with him, and please don't give him any prominence at the meeting if he comes. Boy, I said he's into all kinds of charismatic foolishness and on and on and on, and I heard about this man. Well, he came to my meeting, and I met him. And I'll tell you something, immediately I recognized Christ in this man. And someone whispered to me and said, Do you know that that man spends two days every week shut alone with God in a cottage out in the country? He's one of the greatest men of prayer in this nation. So I invited him on stage and offended so many people, pastors. I couldn't understand it. It was his success? I don't know. But he was a great man of God, and even Pentecostal pastors were telling me, Don't go near him. I can't understand that because I wonder how many of these men have been forgiven that great debt, how many things have been forgiven in their lives, and they will not forgive a man they don't even know. In another one of my conferences, all the Pentecostals, there were Baptists, Lutheran, all denominations were cooperating. And I loved it because there was a wonderful sense of unity. And each night a different bishop from a different denomination would get up and chair the meeting. I had to walk on eggs. Everywhere I go all over the world, I have to walk on eggs because this Pentecostal denomination doesn't believe in clapping hands. This one doesn't believe in raising hands. This one says they have to have a hat on their head. Everywhere I go, some say, If you're going to have a meeting tonight, we're not coming if you have this group. I'm walking on eggs. They're supposed to all love Jesus. What's going on? I don't figure it out. One meeting, one of the music groups, I am so tired of having different music groups and having to listen to their style before they're allowed on the stage. And somehow this group slipped by. They were just a bunch of happy kids singing and clapping their hands and loving the Lord. And I'm just thanking God that someone's been on drugs and been delivered. And there's a bishop up there, angry, because it wasn't his style of music. I go backstage, and he met me. You remember the story about going out and choking? I was being choked. Because he knew. Let me tell you, he knew that what I preached came from the throne of God. He knew I'd been on my knees. He knew I had a broken heart. And he said, This was flesh. It's all flesh. And he said, I'm taking 200 of my pastors out of your meeting tomorrow, and we're leaving. I'm speechless. I'm speechless. I tried to think about that man for weeks. I said, Lord, what was wrong? He knew my heart. I was invited to another nation, another country, and there was a bishop that had been inviting me to come for years, and I wasn't released to go. So we finally go to this country. And because I didn't go just to be with that group and invited others in, Methodists and Baptists and Lutherans, he wouldn't even let my associates in his office and demanded that none of his people go to my meetings. One of his pastors did come, but to choke me. Backstage, he says, How in the world can you cooperate with those kind of people and the kind of people he's talking about? It was a Lutheran bishop who was so full of Jesus, a Baptist bishop who had been in prison by the Communists for years and had read my book and handwritten pages years ago, and loved me. And I see this. And all I can say, you see, it's Phariseeism in many of us. I couldn't find the answer until I looked into my own soul. And I did a heart searching, and I found the reason in my own heart. And I look back years ago when I was a younger preacher and so bent on holiness, so wanting to please God, but not understanding the forbearance of God and the mercy of God and living under a legalistic system. And because I didn't feel loved, and because I felt God was angry at me, and because I magnified my sins more than his grace, I stood in the pulpit and I railed against pastors because I perceived everybody to be as evil as I was. And I looked in my heart, and I remember how judgmental. Now, I don't take back because I was sincere. That's all I knew. And it hit me yesterday when a man came to me in the hospital. I was in the hospital yesterday visiting somebody. There's a man who said, Brother Dave, I've been to your church, and I'm in the ministry today. And he said, oh, he started naming, I've been to this church, and I've been through this, and I've been through that. He named all kinds of doctrines. I said, boy, you've seen a lot of foolishness, haven't you? And he backed up, he said, oh, Brother Dave, he said, I've been in all of that. But he said, I'm going to tell you something. I had a sincere heart, and it just took me time to grow. He said, please have patience with us. I bowed my head. My God. You see, I don't want to be that man. And nobody here had been forgiven more sins than I have. And when I remember that pastor choking me, and that young man coming up choking me, I understand now why. Because, you see, we build walls like the Pharisees did. It wasn't enough that the law said, honor the Sabbath. They had, well, we'll make sure we honor the Sabbath, so you only walk so many miles. And they built walls around the Sabbath. They became bondage. They say, the law says, don't take the name of God in vain. So they said, we won't even mention his name. So even today, the name of God isn't even mentioned. Because they built walls. And now, because it says, be holy, you have to dress a certain way. You have to do this. You have to do that to be holy. And we build walls. And then you live within those walls, and everybody else outside of those walls are condemned. And God alone is with us inside these walls. I've never seen such division. A world gone crazy, a world in chaos. And pastors telling me that my wife can't come and sit in their church without something on their head. I'm not putting any of that down. You'll find it in the Scripture. You'll find foot washing in the Scripture. But they're not to be made walls. So we go out and grab people by the throat, and say, do it my way. And no way. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, and even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. And oh, does this parable end with a frightful warning. Though thou wicked servant, I forgive thee all that debt, shouldest not thou also have compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on you. You see, we're not to compromise with sin. The Scripture, Paul said to Timothy, preach the word, be instant in season, reprove, rebuke. But notice what he said, with all longsuffering, with all patience, and with love. So the Lord was wroth with the man, delivered him to the tormentors. So likewise, so my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. I'm going to close with this. There's one thing you say, Brother Dave, how can I love others as Christ has loved me? I don't have some great truth on this, although I know how the Holy Ghost deals with me. I think you start in your home. You start with your wife, your husband. I know for a fact that in this congregation, there are husbands that won't forgive their wives for some past sin. Husbands who won't forgive wives. And others who don't forgive others in the body of Christ. You stand on what you call your holiness. You stand on what you call your right, how right you are. No, no, no. You're the man. You're this person who's been forgiven so much. You've gone out and choked your loved one, your children. Let me ask you a question. How merciful have you been? How longsuffering? Do you have forbearance? In other words, do you put up with things without responding in anger? Are you easily provoked? For a whole month, I was in Florida every day. I couldn't read anything else. I couldn't study anything else. David, how do you go out and preach to preachers unless you have compassion, forbearance? And I relate to that man. If I had my just dues, I wouldn't be in this pulpit. I'd be penniless. My children would all be divorced. I would be divorced. But for the mercy of God, the grace of God. And I can point a finger at you, Loveling, and say you'd be the same way. God knows where you've been without the grace, the mercy, and forbearance of God. The only thing that can make us loving, forbearing, and merciful to others is to allow us, first of all, to accept His forgiveness and His great love. I stand here amazed at His love for me. As I walk into church this morning, I say, God, I don't deserve to go into this church this morning. I don't deserve to stand in that pulpit. There are times my unbelief was so blatant. There were times that I struggled so hard not understanding things happening in my life. And yet you were merciful to me and you forgave me. God, help me to stand before these people, not with judgment, but with your love. Preach truth. Be instant. Reprove. Rebuke. But with patience, as Paul said, as a nurse. You find that from these pastors. There's not one of them that isn't a man, nurse and sister. There is a great merciful people. But that places an obligation on you. Places an obligation on me and all of us to be a loving church. To care for one another. Stand, please. Lord, I ask you before this people to forgive my lack of forbearance and mercy. And Lord, make me in my final years preach with your mercy and grace. And Lord, not only in this pulpit, but when I travel and I speak to ministers around the world. Please, oh God, please. There's so much pain in the ministry. So many hurting people. And Lord, you feel that pain. And you feel that burden that they go through. Lord, Pastor Carter goes soon to Cuba. God, give him mercy beyond anything he's known. Touch and melt the hearts of all those pastors who have been under that regime for so long. And so downcast and burdened. Fill him with messages of love and grace to embrace these men as he did in Nigeria. And all of our pastors and their counseling and their teaching. And Patrick with the youth and all our teachers and our choir and everyone. Lord, forgive us for our harshness. Forgive us for our lack of forbearance, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. If you're this morning and you're finding it hard to find forgiveness in your heart. For someone or for something. You've tried, but it's been so difficult and almost impossible for you in your flesh to forgive. Been holding on to something for a long time. This thing in you. You've reacted wrong. Fill this with the Lord. If you're up in the balcony, just go to the stairs either side. And if you're in the annex, go to the lobby and I'll show you how to get to the auditorium. You can walk down here and meet me. And here on the main floor, just step out here and we'll pray. If you're backslidden. If you don't know the Lord, you come to. If you've been running from God. You say, by the looks of it, I'm having a hard time forgiving somebody. I'm having a very hard time. The Lord understands that and there's grace for you. Before you walk out of this place, God will melt your heart. If you're willing to take a step of faith and say, Jesus, I don't want to be the kind of person I am. I don't want to be this hard person who's been forgiven so much. And I can't find it in my heart to forgive. If you feel that you need to be forgiven, things in your life you've not confessed to the Lord, would you just bow your head right now and in your own words say, Lord, forgive me. I accept your grace, your mercy, and your long suffering. You're a good God and I accept your goodness and I accept your forgiveness. I repent from my heart. Forgive me. Just say it. Speak it from your heart. And accept that now in Jesus' name. I believe that. I can't make it up to you, Lord, but I need your grace and I need your forgiveness. All right. Now, the rest of you look this way, please, even in the back, in the aisles, wherever you may be. When God gave me this message, I said, Lord, how do I put this into practice now? He said, begin with the one closest to you, those in your circle. On your job, there may be one or two people around you. You begin there. If there's anything that's in your heart, get it out. And secondly, the Lord told me, don't let any seeds of prejudice take root in your heart now. With all the chaos, all the talk about Islam taking over the world, all the talk about Iraq, all the talk about Palestinians versus Israel, all of this turmoil that's in the world, that can create seeds of prejudice in your heart and mind. I won't allow it. God said, deal with it right there. Pray with love. You can pray for Iraqi people with the greatest love that Jesus has. God, after this is all over, oh, that God send in missionaries. God, you just tear down walls and people go in even to sacrifice their very lives to help. They talk about rebuilding. The only way it could be rebuilt is in the name of Jesus, no other way. So take that there be no prejudice. Folks, I'm telling you, Pastor Carter and Pastor Neal and all the pastors here, sister, we've been warned time and time again that the enemy's going to come. He can't get us outside, but inside with prejudices, feelings. There's no place for it. You deal there right now. Lord, give me forbearance. Give me forbearance. Let me put up with things that really are not issues, are really not issues. Let me look beyond these things and see Jesus in people. When I look at you, I want to see Jesus. I don't want to judge you. I was talking to somebody the other day about you walk into a fancy store like Saks Fifth Avenue. If you go in there in Levi's and a dirty shirt, you just came from work, watch all the workers look at you. What are you doing here? Because they judge you by what you look. The man who built Wal-Mart drove an old pickup truck and had a bag lunch everywhere he went, a pair of overalls. He'd go into a store and people would look down their nose at him. He's one of the richest men in the world, and we misjudge. God, forgive us. Raise your hands, audience. Come on, people. Raise your hand. Pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus, forgive me for being so unmerciful. Oh God, give me forbearance. Give me love. Help me to love others just as you have loved me. And to forgive others just as you've forgiven me. And to hold no prejudice. Now let me pray. Father, you see the hands and you heard the prayer. We don't have to scream at you. Lord, this is a matter now of believing and acting on that faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Now just give him thanks. Thank you, Jesus. Give him thanks.